What Are The Causes Of Dry Eyes?
Dry eyes can result from a number of causes, often related to how tears are produced and maintained in the eyes. One of the most common causes is increased tear evaporation, which occurs when the tears produced evaporate too quickly. This can be due to environmental factors like dry or windy conditions, air conditioning, or even excessive screen time. Living in areas like Atlanta, Marietta, East Cobb, and Kennesaw can increase this risk, especially with Georgia’s fluctuating weather conditions.
Tear evaporation is also linked to meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), where the oil-producing glands in the eyelids don’t function properly, leading to faster tear evaporation. For those affected by MGD, seeking dry eyes treatment is important to restore balance and relieve symptoms.
Other causes include problems with tear composition. Healthy tears consist of three layers: oil, water, and mucus. If any of these layers are imbalanced, tears can evaporate quickly or fail to spread evenly across the surface of the eye, leading to dry, irritated eyes.
Conditional causes, such as certain medications, autoimmune diseases, and aging, can also contribute to dry eyes. For example, people with conditions like rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, or those taking antihistamines or blood pressure medications, are more prone to developing dry eyes. In many cases, adjusting medications or treating the underlying condition can help manage symptoms, but specialized dry eye syndrome treatment is often necessary for lasting relief.
Eye Drops
Eye Drops
For instant relief from the effects of dry eye, we can select just the right eye drops for you. Depending on the cause and severity of your dry eye, as well as your specific symptoms, we’ll either prescribe medicated drops or curate over-the-counter recommendations that match your needs.
Intense Pulsed
Light (IPL)
Intense Pulsed
Light (IPL)
To treat meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), a common cause of dry eye that deprives your tears of oil, we offer a highly effective in-house option known as IPL for dry eye disease. This procedure uses small bursts of light applied to your closed eyelids to warm and unclog your oil-producing meibomian glands, allowing your natural oils to flow into your tears once more.
MiboFlo
This advanced in-office procedure treats MGD with small heat-conducting pads placed over your closed eyes while you relax. This thermal energy helps loosen your eyelid meibomian glands, restoring oil to fortify your tears and keep your eyes moist.
BlephEx®
BlephEx®
This in-office dry eye treatment targets eyelid inflammation known as blepharitis, which can cause dry eye. BlephEx® uses an innovative spinning micro-sponge to sweep over your eyelids and cleanse them, gently exfoliating away clogged oil and debris for healthier lids.
Punctal Plugs
Punctal Plugs
These microscopic devices are painlessly placed into your tear ducts by our expert doctors to alleviate dry eye caused by tears draining too quickly. With punctal plugs in place, your eyes will hold tears on the surface of your eye longer, keeping them better hydrated.
Scleral Lenses
Scleral Lenses
Scleral contact lenses benefit those with dry eye because they’re designed to vault over the front of the eye without making direct contact, instead resting on the whites of the eye, or sclera. This design creates a space between the lens and cornea that acts as a reservoir to lock in tears, lubricating the eyes.
Eye Supplements
Eye Supplements
Several eye supplements have been shown to provide relief for dry eye and its symptoms, including fish oil, vitamin A, vitamin C, flax oil, and more. Based on your specific case of dry eye, our trusted optometrists will recommend supplements that will support your lifestyle and eye health for years to come!
